Management device, management system, management method, and program

ABSTRACT

A receiver ( 131 ) receives an acquisition request to acquire a value of real resource information associated with a device ( 20 ) connected to a network or a value of virtual resource information associated with a calculation result of calculation performed using a value of the real resource information. A real resource information acquirer ( 1352 ) acquires the value of the real resource information by causing a collector ( 140 ) to collect a value from the device ( 20 ) associated with the real resource information. A virtual resource information acquirer ( 1353 ) acquires the value of the virtual resource information by causing a calculator ( 1354 ) to perform calculation using the value of the real resource information. A responder ( 136 ) returns a response including the value of the real resource information or a response including the value of the virtual resource information based on the received acquisition request.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a management device, a managementsystem, a management method, and a program.

BACKGROUND ART

Multiple devices in a facility such as a factory are connected to anetwork and managed. A management device that manages these devices andterminal devices that can communicate with the management device includean application for displaying information about the devices in thefacility. In response to a user's request for a value such as the yieldor the production amount through this application, the management devicetypically acquires a value through the network from a device forming adistributed control system (DCS) or a device such as a programmablelogic controller (PLC), and calculates the requested value throughprocessing based on the acquired value in the application.

For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a technique used in aproduction management system for calculating the output for eachpredetermined cycle based on event data indicating the processes andtrend data indicating time-series data measured by the devices andproviding the output to the user.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: Unexamined Japanese Patent Application PublicationNo. 2005-352704

Summary of Invention Technical Problem

To acquire a calculation result based on a value acquired from a devicewith a known method, a management device for managing the devicecollects the value from the device through a network, and returns thecollected value to an application in the requester device, and theapplication performs calculation based on the returned value. When manyvalues are to be used to acquire a calculation result processing ofreturning to the application as many values as the values foracquisition of the calculation result is to be performed in such a knownmethod. However, if only the calculation result can be returned to theapplication, such processing of returning many values can be eliminated.

An objective of the present disclosure is to provide a managementdevice, a management system, a management method, and a program forcollecting values from devices managed through a network, and providinga result of calculation based on the collected values in response to arequest.

Solution to Problem

To achieve the above objective, a management device according to anaspect of the present disclosure is a device for managing a data modelincluding real resource information associated with a device connected anetwork, and virtual resource information associated with a calculationresult of calculation performed using a value of the real resourceinformation. The management device includes receiving means forreceiving an acquisition request generated based on the data model toacquire the value of the real resource information or a value of thevirtual resource information, calculating means for performing thecalculation, real resource information acquiring means for acquiring thevalue of the real resource information by causing collecting means tocollect a value from the device associated with the real resourceinformation, virtual resource information acquiring means for acquiringthe value of the virtual resource information by causing the calculatingmeans to perform the calculation using the value of the real resourceinformation, and response means for returning, in response to thereceiving means receiving the acquisition request for the real resourceinformation, a response including the value of the real resourceinformation acquired by the real resource information acquiring means toa requester of the acquisition request, and returning, in response tothe receiving means receiving the acquisition request for the virtualresource information, a response including the value of the virtualresource information acquired by the virtual resource informationacquiring means to a requester of the acquisition request.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The above aspect of the present disclosure can receive an acquisitionrequest for the value of real resource information associated with adevice, and return the requested value to a requester. The above aspectof the present disclosure can also receive an acquisition request forthe value of virtual resource information associated with a calculationresult using the value of real resource information, and return therequested value to a requester. In response to an acquisition requestfor the value of virtual resource information, the above aspect of thepresent disclosure returns the requested calculation result alonewithout returning values collected from the devices used for processing.Thus, the above aspect can eliminate unintended processing of returningunrequested values. When receiving a request from a terminal deviceother than a management device, the above aspect transmits thecalculation result alone without returning the values collected from thedevices, and thus can save traffic for returning the collected values.The management device collects values from devices to calculate thecalculation result, and thus can reduce a time difference between valuesretrieved from multiple devices and improve the accuracy of thecalculation result. The management device can keep the values collectedfrom the devices within the management device, and thus improvesecurity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a management system according toEmbodiment 1 of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a tree structure of a system accordingto Embodiment 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a management device according toEmbodiment 1 showing the hardware structure;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a data model according to Embodiment 1;

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating the management deviceaccording to Embodiment 1;

FIG. 6 is a table illustrating system configuration informationaccording to Embodiment 1;

FIG. 7 is a table illustrating device information according toEmbodiment 1;

FIG. 8 is a table illustrating connection information according toEmbodiment 1;

FIG. 9 is a table illustrating an example of a display screen accordingto Embodiment 1;

FIG. 10A is a flowchart illustrating management processing according toEmbodiment 1;

FIG. 10B is a flowchart illustrating management processing according toEmbodiment 1;

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram illustrating a management deviceaccording to Embodiment 2;

FIG. 12 is a table illustrating resource information according toEmbodiment 2;

FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram illustrating a management systemaccording to Modification 1; and

FIG. 14 is a functional block diagram illustrating a management systemaccording to Modification 2.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1

A management system 1 according to Embodiment 1 is a factory automation(FA) system installed at a factory, and corresponds to a productionsystem that produces products. This management system 1 performs variousprocesses, such as processing, monitoring, and inspections, onworkpieces conveyed along a line X that is a production line at afactory A. The management system 1 enables a user U1 to manage the stateof the system.

With reference to FIG. 1, the structure of the management system 1 willbe described. The management system 1 includes a device system 2, andmanagement devices 11, 12, and 13 that manage devices included in thedevice system 2. The device system 2 includes devices 21, 22, and 23 anddevices 24, 25, and 26 incorporated in the device 23. The devices 21,22, 23, and 24 are connected to a network 30, and the devices 25 and 26are connected to the device 24 with a bus 231. The management devices11, 12, and 13 are connected to networks 30 and 40.

The management devices 11 to 13 manage the devices 21 to 26 included inthe device system 2 by, for example, monitoring or operating the devices21 to 26. In the management system 1, the management device 11 managesthe device 21, the management device 12 manages the device 22, and themanagement device 13 manages the devices 23 to 26. Each of themanagement devices 11 to 13 performs, on devices other than devices tobe managed by the management device through the other ones of themanagement devices 11 to 13, processing such as information collection,settings, and operations. For example, instead of directly accessing thedevice 22, the management device 11 performs processing on the device 22through the management device 12.

Examples of the devices 21 to 26 include actuators, robots, PLC, andsensors.

The network 30 is an industrial network. The network 30 connects themanagement devices 11 to 13 and the devices 21 to 24 to each other toenable these devices to communicate with each other. The devices 25 and26 are connected to the management devices 11 to 13 through the device24 connected to the network 30 to communicate with the managementdevices 11 to 13. The network 40 is a wired or wireless communicationnetwork such as a local area network (LAN). The network 40 connects themanagement devices 11 to 13 with each other to enable these devices tocommunicate with each other.

The management devices 11 to 13 are hereafter collectively referred toas management devices 10. Similarly, the devices 21 to 26 arecollectively referred to as devices 20.

Each of the management devices 10 includes an application that enablesthe user U1 to easily manage all the devices 20 by operating any of themanagement devices 10. The user U1 can manage the devices 20 with theapplication of each management device 10 without paying attention towhich devices 20 are managed by the management device 10 used by theuser U1.

For example, using the application, the user U1 can refer to the systemconfiguration indicating the relationship between the devices 20included in the device system 2.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a system configuration diagramillustrating the device system 2. The system configuration diagramillustrated in FIG. 2 indicates the physical connection relationshipbetween the devices in the device system 2 shown in FIG. 1 with amaster/slave relationship in a tree structure. In FIG. 2, the numeralsfollowing DEVICE correspond to the reference signs of the devicesincluded in the device system 2. For example, DEVICE [21] corresponds tothe device 21. The system configuration diagram illustrated in FIG. 2indicates that the line X in the factory A includes the devices 21 to26, and the devices 24 to 26 are subordinate to the device 23. Thesystem configuration diagram illustrated in FIG. 2 defines the physicalconnection relationship between the devices in the device system 2 shownin FIG. 1. However, the system configuration diagram may be created asappropriate independently of the real physical connection relationshipbetween the devices 20 and the managing area of each management device10.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the hardware structure of each managementdevice 10 will be described. Each management device 10 includes aprocessor 101 that performs operations on management of the device 20, amain storage 102 used as a work area for the processor 101, an auxiliarystorage 103 that stores various data sets used for the processingperformed by the processor 101, an input device 104 that acquiresinformation input by the user U1, an output device 105 that providesvarious information items to the user U1, and a communicator 106 thatcommunicates with external devices. The main storage 102, the auxiliarystorage 103, the input device 104, the output device 105, and thecommunicator 106 are connected to the processor 101 with an internal bus107.

The processor 101 includes a micro-processing unit (MPU). The processor101 executes a program P1 stored in the auxiliary storage 103 toimplement various functions of the management device 10 and thus toperform the processes described later.

The main storage 102 includes a random-access memory (RAM). The programP1 is loaded from the auxiliary storage 103 into the main storage 102.The main storage 102 serves as a work area for the processor 101.

The auxiliary storage 103 includes a nonvolatile memory such as anelectrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). Besidesthe program P1, the auxiliary storage 103 stores various data sets usedfor the processing performed by the processor 101. In accordance withinstructions from the processor 101, the auxiliary storage 103 providesdata to be used by the processor 101 to the processor 101 and stores thedata provided from the processor 101.

The input device 104 includes input devices such as input keys andpointing devices. The input device 104 acquires information input by theuser U1 of the management device 10 and provides the acquiredinformation to the processor 101.

The output device 105 includes output devices such as a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) and a speaker. The output device 105 may be a touch screenintegrally formed with the pointing devices included in the input device104. The output device 105 provides various information items to theuser U1 in accordance with instructions from the processor 101.

The communicator 106 includes a network interface circuit forcommunicating with external devices. The communicator 106 receivesexternal signals, and outputs data represented by the signals to theprocessor 101. The communicator 106 transmits signals representing dataoutput from the processor 101 to external devices.

Each management device 10 implements various functions in cooperationwith the above hardware components.

Each management device 10 has the management function that enables auser to form and edit a data model based on data acquired from thedevices 20. A data model herein is formed appropriately by a userindependently of the physical connection relationship based on any dataacquirable from devices including data set to each device and datameasured by each device. Thus, the user can show enormous data in thefactory with a hierarchical structure and hierarchically manage thedata. The management device 10 can easily manage the devices 20 with thefunction of managing the data model. The application uses the manageddata model. The application can thus collectively access facility datain the factory, and the user can uniformly manage and maintain theproduction site using the application.

The data model according to the present embodiment includes realresource information associated with each device 20, virtual resourceinformation associated with the calculation result of the calculationperformed using the value of real resource information, and fileresource information associated with a document.

The real resource information is associated with each device 20 by theuser, and indicates, for example, information items set with the device20, information items measured by the device 20, and items indicatingthe functions of the device 20.

The virtual resource information is associated with the calculationresult of the calculation performed using the value of real resourceinformation. The virtual resource information indicates, for example,items of the calculation.

The file resource information indicates items of a document such as adevice manual and maintenance history. That is, the data model mayinclude a document in addition to data acquired from the device.

The data model may also include items regarding the devices 20 that arenot managed by the corresponding management device 10.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a data model. The data model illustrated in

FIG. 4 is formed by the user U1 to show the configuration of the devicesystem 2 in the factory A. The data model in FIG. 4 is created in themanagement device 12 that manages the device 22.

When, for example, the device 22 includes a first temperature sensor, asecond temperature sensor, a first pressure sensor, a second pressuresensor, and a first shaft and a second shaft included in a motor, theuser U1 can add items such as FIRST TEMPERATURE SENSOR and SECONDTEMPERATURE SENSOR included in the device 22 to the data model asillustrated in FIG. 4. An item such as AVERAGE TEMPERATURE in thecalculation result acquired by using the added items may be added to thedata model to define the calculation for acquiring the calculationresult. As shown in FIG. 4, the user U1 can add an item TEMPERATURESENSOR in the device 26 that is not managed by the management device 12.The user U1 can also add DEVICE MANUAL and MAINTENANCE HISTORY of thedevice 22. For example, when a node indicating the device 22 in thesystem configuration diagram illustrated in FIG. 2 is selected, theadded item associated with the device 22 appears in a tree view asillustrated in FIG. 4.

In the data model in FIG. 4, FIRST TEMPERATURE SENSOR, SECONDTEMPERATURE SENSOR, FIRST PRESSURE SENSOR, SECOND PRESSURE SENSOR, andFIRST SHAFT and SECOND SHAFT of a motor correspond to the real resourceinformation, and AVERAGE TEMPERATURE and ALL SHAFTS OPERATION STATEcorrespond to the virtual resource information.

The user U1 can request values regarding the items included in the datamodel. The user U1 can easily understand the configuration of the devicesystem 2 through the data model, and can easily acquire valuesacquirable from the devices 20 in the device system 2 without payingattention to the range managed by each management device 10.

FIG. 5 shows the functional configuration of each management device 10.Each management device 10 functionally includes a data model constructor110 that forms and edits a data model, an application device 120 thatacquires values using the data model and performs processing using theacquired values, a data model manager 130 that manages the data model, acollector 140 that collects values from each device 20, and a firstcommunicator 150 that communicates with each device 20.

The data model constructor 110 is typically a function used by a factoryline manager to design a data model. The application device 120 is afunction used by, for example, a maintenance operator of a factory lineto perform specific processing using data acquired using the data model.A constructor for a data model is referred to as a first user. A user ofdata in the data model is referred to as a second user.

Based on the operation performed by the first user, the data modelconstructor 110 performs a process for constructing a data model. Thedata model constructor 110 is typically a function provided by anengineering tool. The data model constructor 110 is implemented by theprocessor 101, the main storage 102, the input device 104, and theoutput device 105 in cooperation.

More specifically, the data model constructor 110 includes a display 111that displays a data model, and a setting requester 112 that receives asetting request for forming and editing the data model from the firstuser. The data model constructor 110 is an example of data modelconstruction means. The display 111 is an example of display means. Thesetting requester 112 is an example of setting request means.

The display 111 displays a data model.

More specifically, the display 111 displays a data model in FIG. 4 onthe screen of the management device 10. In response to the first useroperating the displayed data model, a setting request is generated.

The setting requester 112 receives various setting requests for formingand editing the data model from the first user. More specifically, thesetting requests include a request for forming or editing the treestructure of a data model, and a request for adding or editing the realresource information, the virtual resource information, and/or the fileresource information. The setting requester 112 transmits the receivedsetting requests to the data model manager 130.

The setting requester 112 transmits the setting requests to the datamodel manager 130 in accordance with Object Linking and Embedding forProcess Control (OPC) Unified Architecture (UA) protocol. Thus, thesetting requester 112 is an OPC UA client.

For example, the setting requester 112 receives, from the first user,setting requests including an addition, a change, or deletion of realresource information such as FIRST TEMPERATURE SENSOR to, in, or from adata model.

The setting requester 112 also receives, from the first user, settingrequests including an addition, a change, or deletion of a file resourcesuch as DEVICE MANUAL to, in, or from a data model.

The setting requester 112 also receives, from the first user, settingrequests for setting the definition of calculation of the virtualresource information.

The definition of the calculation is at least one of a function and ascript that describes processing of a management device. The functionand the script include the real resource information as an input value.For example, the definition of the calculation may be a functiondefinition such as any of the four basic arithmetic operations, a bitoperation, or a logical operation, or a definition that definesprocessing implemented using plug-in software.

For example, the setting requester 112 receives, from the first user, arequest for setting a formula for calculating an average value betweenvalues from the first temperature sensor and the second temperaturesensor in the device 22 as a definition of the calculation for acquiringthe average temperature. The definition specified by the first user isincorporated into device information 1342 shown in FIG. 7 by a setter132 in the data model manager 130 described later.

The application device 120 acquires information about the data modelfrom the data model manager 130 and requests data based on the datamodel. In other words, the data model plays a role of showing, to theapplication device 120, information acquirable by the data model manager130. The application device 120 performs various processes using theacquired values. The application device 120 is implemented by thefunctions provided by application software operable on the managementdevice 10. Unlike the data model constructor 110, the application device120 does not have the functions of forming and editing the data model,but simply has functions of acquiring configuration information about adata model and acquiring and updating values of real resourceinformation and values of virtual resource information. The applicationdevice 120 is typically a function used by the second user but is alsousable by the first user.

More specifically, the application device 120 includes an acquisitionrequester 121 that receives acquisition requests, and a data processor122 that processes data acquired using the data model. The applicationdevice 120 is an example of application means. The acquisition requester121 is an example of acquisition request means, and the data processor122 is an example of data processing means.

The acquisition requester 121 receives, from the second user,acquisition requests for acquiring data based on the data model. Morespecifically, the acquisition requests are requests for acquiring thevalue of real resource information or the value of virtual resourceinformation, and requests for acquiring information about theconfiguration of a data model. Information about the configuration of adata model is hereafter referred to as data-model configurationinformation. The data-model configuration information includesinformation indicating the tree structure of the data model. Theacquisition requester 121 transmits the received acquisition request tothe data model manager 130.

The acquisition requester 121 transmits an acquisition request to thedata model manager 130 in accordance with the OPC UA protocol. Thus, theacquisition requester 121 corresponds to the OPC UA client.

For example, in response to the second user designating the node ofFIRST TEMPERATURE SENSOR in the data model in FIG. 4 appearing on thescreen to request a value, the acquisition requester 121 receives anacquisition request for acquiring the value of FIRST TEMPERATURE SENSOR.In response to the second user designating the node of AVERAGETEMPERATURE in the data model in FIG. 4 appearing on the screen torequest a value, the acquisition requester 121 receives an acquisitionrequest for acquiring the value of AVERAGE TEMPERATURE.

An acquisition requester having the same functions as the acquisitionrequester 121 may be installed in the data model constructor 110. Theapplication device 120 may not display a data model. Instead ofreceiving an operation from a user, the application device 120 maygenerate an acquisition request as appropriate. For example, theapplication device 120 may generate an acquisition request in accordancewith a program.

The data processor 122 performs various processes based on data returnedin accordance with the acquisition request. The processes performed bythe data processor 122 vary depending on the functions provided by theapplication device 120.

The data model manager 130 performs processing or responses based on arequest received from the data model constructor 110 and the applicationdevice 120.

More specifically, the data model manager 130 includes a receiver 131that receives setting requests and acquisition requests, the setter 132that sets a data model based on a setting request, a data modelinformation acquirer 133 that acquires data-model configurationinformation based on an acquisition request, a storage 134 that storesinformation about the data model, a resource information acquirer 135that acquires values of the real resource information and the virtualresource information included in the data model, and a responder 136that returns responses to the request.

The receiver 131 receives setting requests and acquisition requests fromthe data model constructor 110 and the application device 120 inaccordance with the OPC UA protocol, and the responder 136 returnsresponses to the data model constructor 110 and the application device120 in accordance with the OPC UA protocol. Thus, the receiver 131 andthe responder 136 form an OPC UA server. The receiver 131 includes adedicated OPC UA interface that enables the data model constructor 110alone to form and edit the data model.

The receiver 131 receives setting requests and acquisition requests. Thereceiver 131 is an example of receiving means.

The setter 132 interprets the setting request received by the receiver131 in accordance with the OPC UA protocol, and incorporates theinterpretation with information stored in the storage 134.

The data model information acquirer 133 interprets the acquisitionrequest for the data-model configuration information received by thereceiver 131 in accordance with the OPC UA protocol and acquiresinformation corresponding to the interpretation from the storage 134.

The storage 134 stores system configuration information 1341 indicatingthe configuration of the device system 2, the device information 1342about the devices 20 to be managed, and connection information 1343indicating the connection state of the management device 10. The systemconfiguration information 1341, the device information 1342, and theconnection information 1343 are set and updated based on the settingrequest from the data model constructor 110. The storage 134 isimplemented by the auxiliary storage 103. The storage 134 is an exampleof storage means.

The system configuration information 1341 defines the master/slaverelationship between the devices 20 included in the device system 2. Thesystem configuration information 1341 is used to show the systemconfiguration in a tree view as illustrated in FIG. 2. The systemconfiguration information 1341 includes information for identifying themanagement device 10 that manages the devices 20. Each management device10 includes the same system configuration information 1341.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the system configuration information 1341 istabular data associating a line data identification (ID), a node namecorresponding to a device or a line included in the device system 2, aparent node ID indicating a line data ID of a parent node, a managementdevice ID indicating an ID of the management device 10 that manages eachdevice 20, retrievability information indicating whether informationabout the device 20 is retrievable, and changeability informationindicating whether information about the device 20 is changeable.

The node name is the name of the node that can be specified by a user asappropriate. The node name may be any name that represents theconfiguration of the device system 2. The node name may be, in additionto the name representing the device 20 and the name of the line on whichthe device 20 is installed, a name of the location of the line or thefactory, or the name of the function of the device 20 on the line suchas CONVEYER or CUTTER.

The system configuration information 1341 in FIG. 6 facilitates theuser's understanding of the system configuration by indicating thehighest node as LINE X. However, the present disclosure is not limitedto such a configuration by indicating the highest node as LINE X, andthe highest node may be the name of the device system 2, or blank datawithout being named.

The parent node ID is the line data ID of the parent node to which thenode is subordinate. The system configuration information 1341 includinginformation about the parent node indicates the master/slaverelationship between the nodes. For example, the line data followed bythe ID 5 indicates that the parent of the device 24 is the device 23corresponding to the line data followed by the ID 4.

The management device ID is identification information for identifyingthe management device 10 that manages the device 20. The managementdevice ID in FIG. 6 indicates the reference sign of each managementdevice 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, line data followed by theID 5 indicates that the device 24 is managed by the management device13.

The retrievability information indicates whether the information aboutthe device 20 is retrievable from other management devices 10 and theapplication device 120. The label POSSIBLE indicates that theinformation is retrievable, and the label IMPOSSIBLE indicates that theinformation is not retrievable. For example, the line data followed bythe ID 5 indicates that the management devices 11 and 12 and theapplication device 120 can retrieve information about the device 24managed by the management device 13.

The changeability information indicates whether the information aboutthe device 20 is changeable by other management devices 10 and theapplication device 120. The label POSSIBLE indicates that theinformation is changeable, and the label IMPOSSIBLE indicates that theinformation is not changeable. For example, the line data followed bythe ID 5 indicates that the management devices 11 and 12 and theapplication device 120 cannot change the information about the device 24managed by the management device 13.

The retrievability information and the changeability information can beset for other management devices 10 and the application device 120. Whenmultiple application devices 120 are included, the retrievabilityinformation and the changeability information can be set for each of theapplication devices 120. For example, the retrievability andchangeability may be set as POSSIBLE for the management device 11, andthe retrievability may be set as POSSIBLE and the changeability may beset as IMPOSSIBLE for the management device 13. The retrievability andchangeability may be set as POSSIBLE for one of the application devices120, and the retrievability may be set as POSSIBLE and the changeabilitymay be set as IMPOSSIBLE for another one of the application devices 120.For the application device 120 installed in an external terminal devicethat can communicate with the management device 10 as described later,retrievability information and changeability information of the externalterminal device are written.

For example, when the first user creates a system configuration diagramillustrated in FIG. 2 using the user interface function provided by thedata model constructor 110, the setter 132 generates the systemconfiguration information 1341 illustrated in FIG. 6. The display 111 inthe data model constructor 110 can display the system configuration ofthe device system 2 in a tree view with reference to the parent node IDsof the line data followed by the IDs 2 to 7 in the system configurationinformation 1341 illustrated in FIG. 6. In response to the first userspecifying the management device ID, the retrievability information, andthe changeability information through the user interface provided by thedata model constructor 110, the setting request indicating the specifiedcontent is transmitted to the data model manager 130, and the setter 132registers the specified content to the system configuration information1341.

The device information 1342 is about the devices 20 managed by themanagement device 10. The device information 1342 includes informationabout terminal devices including sensors and motors included in eachdevice 20 and other information about the device 20.

FIG. 7 shows the device information 1342 stored in the management device12. The management device 12 manages the device 22. Thus, the deviceinformation 1342 stored in the management device 12 includes informationabout terminal devices and groups included in the device 22 and otherinformation. The device information 1342 is tabular data associating aline data ID, a node name, a node type, a parent node ID indicating theline data ID of a parent node, a system configuration information IDindicating the line data ID of the device 20 in the system configurationinformation 1341, and detailed information about the node.

The node name can be designated as appropriate by a user. The node nameis, for example, a device name, a name of a terminal device associatedwith the device, a file data name, a group name, or a name of anarithmetic operation.

The type indicates the node type. For example, the node in the typeGROUP indicates that the node has a child node, the node in the typeREAL RESOURCE indicates that the node shows the real resourceinformation, the node in the type VIRTUAL RESOURCE indicates that thenode shows the virtual resource information, and the node in the typeFILE indicates that the node shows the file resource information storedin the storage 134 in a manner associated with the device 20.

In FIG. 7, the items indicating the terminal devices are associated withthe node in the type REAL RESOURCE, and the items indicating AVERAGETEMPERATURE and ALL SHAFTS OPERATION STATE acquired by performing thecalculation defined by the user are associated with the node in the typeVIRTUAL RESOURCE. The items indicating DEVICE MANUAL and MAINTENANCEINFORMATION are associated with the node in the type FILE.

The parent node ID is the line data ID of the parent node to which thenode is subordinate. The device information 1342 including informationabout the parent node indicates the master/slave relationship betweenthe nodes.

The system configuration information ID indicates the line data ID ofthe system configuration information in FIG. 6, indicating that the itemassociated with the node is information about a specific one of thedevices 20 in the system configuration information. For example, thesystem configuration information ID 3 is associated with the line dataIDs 2 to 11 in FIG. 7. The line data ID 3 in the system configurationinformation in FIG. 6 corresponds to DEVICE [22]. This reveals that theitems associated with the nodes for the line data IDs 2 to 11 in FIG. 7are information about the device 22.

The detailed information is associated with the node and is eitherinformation registered in accordance with the setting request from thedata model constructor 110 or information referred to by the resourceinformation acquirer 135. For example, in the nodes in the type REALRESOURCE, input/output (I/O) addresses of sensors and motors areregistered as detailed information such as D0, D1, D2, D3, X1, and X2.The resource information acquirer 135 refers to the I/O addresses tocollect the values of the devices, as described later. In the nodes inthe type VIRTUAL RESOURCE, the definitions of the calculations areregistered as detailed information based on the setting requestsreceived from the data model constructor 110. In the nodes in the typeFILE, paths specifying file locations are registered as detailedinformation based on the setting requests received from the data modelconstructor 110.

A value retrieved from the I/O address, or specifically the value ofreal resource information, may be read or written from the data modelconstructor 110, an external terminal device, and the application device120 through the OPC UA interface provided by the data model manager 130.In response to selection of file resource information in the data modelin FIG. 4, a file associated with the selected file resource informationmay be activated with a tool linked with the file by an operating system(OS).

The detailed information for the virtual resources also includesarithmetic expressions using real resources such as (node ID [4]+node ID[6])/2 and node ID [8] & node ID [9] in FIG. 7. The values of theresults of the arithmetic expressions are retrievable through the OPC UAinterface provided by the data model manager 130.

Formation of a group VIRTUAL RESOURCE INFORMATION as in FIG. 7 isoptional in a case of registration of a node corresponding to virtualresource information such as AVERAGE TEMPERATURE to the deviceinformation 1342. A group node VIRTUAL RESOURCE INFORMATION may beformed to register a node corresponding to virtual resource information,or virtual resource information may be subordinate to a group DEVICE 22without forming a group node VIRTUAL RESOURCE INFORMATION. In someembodiments, virtual resource information may be on the same hierarchyas the real resource information such as FIRST/SECOND TEMPERATURE SENSORand FIRST/SECOND PRESSURE SENSOR.

The connection information 1343 indicates whether each management device10 is connected to the network 40, and whether each management device 10is connectable to the corresponding device 20 managed by the managementdevice 10. The connection information 1343 is used to show a userwhether the devices 20 are accessible.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the connection information 1343 is tabulardata associating a line data ID, a management device ID for identifyingthe management device 10, the connection state of each management device10, and connectability information about devices managed by eachmanagement device 10.

The management device ID is identification information for identifyingthe management device 10 that manages the device 20. The managementdevice ID in FIG. 8 corresponds to the reference sign of each of themanagement devices 10 illustrated in FIG. 1.

The connection state indicates whether the management device 10 isconnected to the network 40. The label ON-LINE indicates that themanagement device 10 is connected to the network 40, and the labelOFF-LINE indicates that the management device 10 is disconnected fromthe network 40. In the connection state labeled as ON-LINE, whether thedevice 20 managed by the management device 10 is connectable can bechecked. In the connection state labeled as OFF-LINE, the device 20managed by the management device 10 is inaccessible.

The connectability information about the device indicates whether thedevice 20 is connectable through the network 30. Specifically, theconnectability information indicates the connection state between thecollector 140 and the device 20. The label POSSIBLE indicates that allthe devices 20 managed by the management device 10 are connectable. Adevice name appearing in this field indicates that the device with thedisplayed device name is not connectable among the devices 20 managed bythe management device 10.

The item CONNECTION STATE of the connection information 1343 is updatedby the management device 10 monitoring the connection state with thenetwork 40. The item DEVICE CONNECTABILITY INFORMATION is updated inpredetermined cycles by the management device 10 checking thecommunication with the device 20 through the network 30. Every timepoint at which the data model manager 130 receives acquisition requestsfor the real resource information and the virtual resource information,the communication with the device 20 corresponding to the acquisitionrequests alone may be checked as appropriate. In that case, the itemDEVICE CONNECTABILITY INFORMATION in the connection information 1343 maybe eliminated.

The data model constructor 110 and the application device 120 in FIG. 5can acquire the system configuration information 1341, the deviceinformation 1342, and the connection information 1343, and display thesystem configuration information 1341, the device information 1342, andthe connection information 1343 on the screen. The system configurationinformation 1341, the device information 1342, and the connectioninformation 1343 may be used by a program different from the data modelconstructor 110 and the application device 120.

The resource information acquirer 135 acquires the value of realresource information or the value of virtual resource information inaccordance with an acquisition request received by the receiver 131 andreturns the requested value to a requester. The resource informationacquirer 135 is implemented by the processor 101 and the main storage102.

More specifically, the resource information acquirer 135 includes aninstructor 1351 that issues instructions based on the request receivedby the receiver 131, a real resource information acquirer 1352 thatacquires the values of real resource information based on theinstructions, a virtual resource information acquirer 1353 that acquiresthe value of virtual resource information based on the instructions, anda calculator 1354 that performs calculation for acquiring the value ofvirtual resource information.

In response to an acquisition request for the real resource informationreceived by the receiver 131, the instructor 1351 causes the realresource information acquirer 1352 to acquire the values of realresource information. In response to an acquisition request for thevirtual resource information received by the receiver 131, theinstructor 1351 causes the virtual resource information acquirer 1353 toacquire the value of virtual resource information. The instructor 1351is an example of instructing means.

For example, when the receiver 131 receives an acquisition requestrequesting the value of FIRST TEMPERATURE SENSOR, the instructor 1351instructs the real resource information acquirer 1352 to acquire thevalue of FIRST TEMPERATURE SENSOR. When the receiver 131 receives anacquisition request requesting the value of AVERAGE TEMPERATURE, theinstructor 1351 instructs the virtual resource information acquirer 1353to acquire the value of AVERAGE TEMPERATURE.

The real resource information acquirer 1352 causes the collector 140 tocollect values collectable from the device associated with the realresource information to acquire the values of real resource information.The real resource information acquirer 1352 is an example of realresource information acquiring means.

More specifically, when the real resource information acquirer 1352receives an instruction from the instructor 1351 to acquire the value ofFIRST TEMPERATURE SENSOR, the real resource information acquirer 1352acquires an I/O address D0 of FIRST TEMPERATURE SENSOR with reference tothe detailed information in the device information 1342. The realresource information acquirer 1352 identifies the device having the I/Oaddress D0 as the device 22 with reference to the device information1342 and identifies the management device 10 that manages the device 22as the management device 12 with reference to the system configurationinformation 1341. When the real resource information acquirer 1352determines that the management device 12 is in the on-line state and thedevice 22 is connectable with reference to the connection information1343, the real resource information acquirer 1352 instructs thecollector 140 to collect the values of the device 22 having the I/Oaddress D0. In some embodiments, when the real resource informationacquirer 1352 determines that the management device 12 is in the on-linestate, the real resource information acquirer 1352 may check whether thedevice 22 having the I/O address D0 is connectable through the collector140. When the device 22 is connectable, the collector 140 acquires avalue and transmits the value to the real resource information acquirer1352. Upon receiving a value of, for example, 24° C. from the collector140, the real resource information acquirer 1352 transmits the value tothe responder 136 through the instructor 1351. When the real resourceinformation acquirer 1352 determines that the management device 12 is inthe off-line state or the device 22 having the I/O address D0 is notconnectable with reference to the connection information 1343, the realresource information acquirer 1352 notifies the failure in collectingthe value to the responder 136 through the instructor 1351.

The virtual resource information acquirer 1353 causes the real resourceinformation acquirer 1352 to acquire the values of real resourceinformation used in the calculation for acquiring the value of virtualresource information, and causes the calculator 1354 to performcalculation using the acquired values of real resource information toacquire the value of virtual resource information. The virtual resourceinformation acquirer 1353 is an example of virtual resource informationacquiring means.

More specifically, in response to an instruction from the instructor1351 to acquire the value of AVERAGE TEMPERATURE, the virtual resourceinformation acquirer 1353 interprets the definition of the arithmeticexpression in AVERAGE TEMPERATURE with reference to the detailedinformation in the device information 1342. Interpreting the definitionrefers to identifying the real resource information included in thedefinition. The virtual resource information acquirer 1353 identifiesthe real resource information included in the arithmetic expression asFIRST TEMPERATURE SENSOR and SECOND TEMPERATURE SENSOR, and transmits arequest for acquiring the values of the identified real resourceinformation to the instructor 1351.

In accordance with the request transmitted from the virtual resourceinformation acquirer 1353, the instructor 1351 instructs the realresource information acquirer 1352 to acquire the values of FIRSTTEMPERATURE SENSOR and SECOND TEMPERATURE SENSOR. In response to theinstruction from the instructor 1351 to acquire the values of FIRSTTEMPERATURE SENSOR and SECOND TEMPERATURE SENSOR, the real resourceinformation acquirer 1352 acquires an I/O address D0 of FIRSTTEMPERATURE SENSOR and an I/O address D2 of SECOND TEMPERATURE SENSORwith reference to the detailed information in the device information1342. The real resource information acquirer 1352 then instructs thecollector 140 to collect the values of the devices having the I/Oaddresses D0 and D2. Upon receiving the values, such as 24° C. and 26°C. from the collector 140, the real resource information acquirer 1352transmits the values to the instructor 1351.

The instructor 1351 transmits the values 24 and 26 received from thereal resource information acquirer 1352 to the virtual resourceinformation acquirer 1353. Upon receiving the value 24 of FIRSTTEMPERATURE SENSOR and the value 26 of SECOND TEMPERATURE SENSOR, thevirtual resource information acquirer 1353 requests the calculator 1354through the instructor 1351 to perform the calculation using thereceived values in accordance with the arithmetic expression (value offirst temperature sensor+value of second temperature sensor)/2. When thecalculator 1354 ends the calculation, the virtual resource informationacquirer 1353 acquires the calculation result 25° C. through theinstructor 1351. The virtual resource information acquirer 1353 thentransmits the calculation result to the responder 136 through theinstructor 1351.

The calculator 1354 performs the calculation for acquiring the value ofvirtual resource information. The calculator 1354 is an example ofcalculating means.

More specifically, the calculator 1354 performs the calculation inaccordance with the values of real resource information transmitted fromthe virtual resource information acquirer 1353 through the instructor1351 and the arithmetic expression specified by the virtual resourceinformation acquirer 1353.

In response to an acquisition request for the real resource informationreceived by the receiver 131, the responder 136 returns a responseincluding the values of real resource information acquired by the realresource information acquirer 1352 to the requester. In response to anacquisition request for the virtual resource information received by thereceiver 131, the responder 136 returns a response including the valueof virtual resource information acquired by the virtual resourceinformation acquirer 1353 to the requester. In response to the settingrequest received by the receiver 131, the responder 136 returns aresponse corresponding to the requested settings. The responder 136 isan example of response means.

For example, in response to an acquisition request for the value ofFIRST TEMPERATURE SENSOR from the application device 120, the responder136 returns the value 24 acquired by the real resource informationacquirer 1352 to the application device 120. In response to anacquisition request for the value of AVERAGE TEMPERATURE from theapplication device 120, the responder 136 returns the value 25 acquiredby the virtual resource information acquirer 1353 to the applicationdevice 120. When receiving no requested value from the real resourceinformation acquirer 1352 or the virtual resource information acquirer1353, the responder 136 returns an error message to the applicationdevice 120.

The collector 140 collects values collectable from the device 20associated with the real resource information. The collector 140 isimplemented by the processor 101. The first communicator 150 is used forconnection to the network 30 and is implemented by the communicator 106.The collector 140 is an example of collecting means.

The values collectable from the devices 20 are herein any valuesassociated with the devices 20, including values measured by the devices20 and the values set to the devices. More specifically, in response toa request designated as the I/O address D0 from the real resourceinformation acquirer 1352, the collector 140 transmits a request foracquiring a value to the device 22 having the I/O address D0. Whenreceiving the value from the device 22, the collector 140 transmits thevalue to the real resource information acquirer 1352.

The collector 140 transmits the value to the real resource informationacquirer 1352 after adding the time point at which the value iscollected to the value. The collection time point is provided to theuser as a time stamp described later.

When the calculation uses multiple pieces of real resource information,the virtual resource information acquirer 1353 acquires the value ofvirtual resource information based on the values of multiple pieces ofreal resource information that are collected by the collector 140 at thetime points matching one another. For example, when the time pointsindicated by the time stamps transmitted by the real resourceinformation acquirer 1352 for the values of multiple pieces of realresource information fail to match, the virtual resource informationacquirer 1353 causes the collector 140 to perform the collection processagain through the real resource information acquirer 1352.

The time points matching one another herein refers to the collectiontime points equal to one another or within a predetermined timedifference between the collection time points (e.g., 0.5 seconds). Thetime difference may be set by the first user or the second user asappropriate.

For example, in response to a response including the requested valuefrom the responder 136 in the data model manager 130, the applicationdevice 120 displays a table illustrated in FIG. 9 on the screen. Thetable in FIG. 9 shows, in a manner associated with one another, the nameof the device from which the values of real resource information orvirtual resource information are acquired, the name of resourceinformation indicating the content of the real resource information orthe virtual resource information, the acquired value, the time stampindicating the time point at which the collector 140 collects the value,and the I/O address of the real resource information or the arithmeticexpression indicating the content of the calculation of the virtualresource information.

The table in FIG. 9 may enable inputs by bringing a cursor over thevalues of real resource information, and enable rewriting of the valuesof the device with an input of a value.

With reference to the flowcharts in FIGS. 10A and 10B, managementprocessing performed by the data model manager 130 in the managementdevice 10 according to the present embodiment will now be described. Inresponse to the management device 10 being powered on, the managementprocessing illustrated in FIGS. 10A and 10B is started. The managementprocessing illustrated in FIGS. 10A and 10B is performed by the datamodel manager 130 in response to a request transmitted from the datamodel constructor 110 or the application device 120.

The receiver 131 determines whether the receiver 131 has received arequest (step S101). When determining receipt of a request (Yes in stepS101), the receiver 131 determines the type of the request (step S102).When determining no receipt of a request (No in step S101), the receiver131 stays on standby.

When determining that the received request is a setting request (settingrequest in step S102), the receiver 131 transmits the setting request tothe setter 132, and the setter 132 performs setting processing inaccordance with the received setting request (step S103).

When determining that the received request is an acquisition request fordata-model configuration information (acquisition request for data-modelconfiguration information in step S102), the receiver 131 transmits theacquisition request to the data model information acquirer 133, the datamodel information acquirer 133 acquires data-model configurationinformation with reference to the storage 134, and the responder 136returns a response including the acquired data-model configurationinformation to the requester (step S104).

When determining that the received request is an acquisition request forresource information (acquisition request for resource information instep S102), the processing advances to step S105.

When the receiver 131 determines that the received request is other thana setting request, an acquisition request for data-model configurationinformation, and an acquisition request for resource information (othersin step S102), the responder 136 returns an error response to therequester (step S106).

In step S105, the receiver 131 determines the type of the receivedacquisition request for resource information (step S105). When thereceiver 131 determines that the received acquisition request is anacquisition request for acquiring the value of real resource information(real resource information in step S105), the real resource informationacquirer 1352 acquires, based on instructions from the instructor 1351,an address of the device for which a value is requested with referenceto the device information 1342 stored in the storage 134 (step S107).

Subsequently, the real resource information acquirer 1352 determineswhether the real resource information acquirer 1352 is connectable tothe device for which the value of real resource information is requested(step S108). When determining that the real resource informationacquirer 1352 is connectable to the device for which the value isrequested (Yes in step S108), the real resource information acquirer1352 causes the collector 140 to collect the value of the device, andacquires the value of real resource information (step S109). Morespecifically, the real resource information acquirer 1352 identifies theI/O address of the requested real resource information with reference tothe device information 1342 stored in the storage 134, and determineswhether the management device 10 that manages the device 20 with theidentified I/O address is in the connection state, and whether themanagement device 10 is connectable to the device 20 with the I/Oaddress. When determining that the management device 10 is connectableto the device 20, the real resource information acquirer 1352 causes thecollector 140 to collect the value of the device with the acquired I/Oaddress, and acquires the value from the collector 140. In step S104,the real resource information acquirer 1352 may check the connectabilitywith direct communication with the device 20 with the identified I/Oaddress.

In step S108, when the real resource information acquirer 1352determines that the management device 10 is not connectable to thedevice 20 for which the value is requested (No in step S108), theresponder 136 returns an error response (step S106). More specifically,when the management device 10 is disconnected from the network 40, orwhen the device 20 is disconnected from the network 30, the responder136 transmits a message indicating that the management device 10 failsto access the device 20 to the requester of the acquisition request.

In step S109, when the real resource information acquirer 1352 acquiresthe value of real resource information, the responder 136 returns aresponse including the acquired value to the requester of theacquisition request (step S110).

In step S105, when the receiver 131 determines that the receivedacquisition request is an acquisition request for acquiring the value ofvirtual resource information (virtual resource information in stepS105), the virtual resource information acquirer 1353 interprets thedefinition of the calculation for acquiring the requested value ofvirtual resource information with reference to the detailed informationin the device information 1342 (step S111).

The virtual resource information acquirer 1353 then determines whetherthe calculation includes a circular reference (step S112). Whendetermining that the calculation excludes a circular reference (Yes instep S112), the virtual resource information acquirer 1353 performs aloop to repeat acquisition of the value of real resource information(steps S114, S115, and S116) with the real resource information acquirer1352 by the number of times corresponding to the number of all thepieces of real resource information included in the calculation (stepS113).

The processes in steps S114, S115, and S116 are respectively similar tosteps S107, S108, and S109. During the repeated processes, in responseto the real resource information acquirer 1352 determining that the realresource information acquirer 1352 fails to be connected to the device20 (No in step S115), the virtual resource information acquirer 1353terminates the loop, and the responder 136 returns an error response tothe requester of the acquisition request (step S106).

In step S112, when the virtual resource information acquirer 1353determines that the calculation includes a circular reference (No instep S112), the responder 136 returns an error response to the requesterof the acquisition request (step S106).

In response to the real resource information acquirer 1352 acquiring thevalues of all the pieces of real resource information, the virtualresource information acquirer 1353 terminates the loop (step S117). Thevirtual resource information acquirer 1353 causes the calculator 1354 toperform calculation with the acquired values of real resourceinformation, and acquires the value of virtual resource information(step S118). The responder 136 then returns a response including theacquired value to the requester of the acquisition request (step S110).

In step S105, when the receiver 131 determines that the receivedacquisition request is an acquisition request for acquiring fileresource information (file resource information in step S105), theresponder 136 provides a file associated with the file resourceinformation to the requester (step S119).

To calculate the value of virtual resource information with anapplication of a management device, a known management device transmitsthe values of real resource information to be used for calculating thevirtual resource information to the application one by one from a datamodel manager, and performs the calculation on the application afterreceiving all the values of real resource information to be used for thecalculation. In contrast, in response to a request for the value ofvirtual resource information, the management device 10 according to thepresent embodiment returns the calculation result of the calculationalone to the requester, and thus can eliminate returning of the valuesof the devices to be used for the calculation.

There is a problem that a known management device causes the timeintervals between the collections of the values of real resourceinformation. In the present embodiment, instead of the applicationdevice 120 calculating the virtual resource information, the resourceinformation acquirer 135 in the data model manager 130 performscalculation based on the collected value. Thus, the values can beretrieved from multiple devices with a minimum time difference, therebyenabling improvement of the accuracy of the calculation results can beimproved.

When a known management device receives an acquisition request for thevalue of virtual resource information from the application, theacquisition requests for values of multiple pieces of real resourceinformation are transmitted through the receiver and the firstcommunicator. This increases the volume of data that is transmittedthrough the receiver and the traffic of the first communicator, and thussimultaneous acquisition of the values of multiple pieces of realresource information is difficult. In the present embodiment, when anacquisition request for the value of virtual resource information istransmitted from the application device 120, the acquisition request forthe virtual resource information alone is transmitted through thereceiver 131, and the acquisition request for the real resourceinformation is transmitted through only the first communicator 150. Thiscan reduce the time difference.

Also in a case in which an acquisition request is transmitted from thedata model constructor 110, the management device 10 according to thepresent embodiment has similar effects as a case in which an acquisitionrequest is transmitted from the application device 120.

Embodiment 2

A management device 10 according to Embodiment 2 has the functions ofacquiring the value of real resource information about the device 20 inadvance and acquiring the value of virtual resource information inadvance.

The same components as in Embodiment 1 are denoted with the samereference signs and will not be described.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the management device 10 according to thepresent embodiment stores, in the storage 134, the system configurationinformation 1341, the device information 1342, the connectioninformation 1343, and resource information 1344.

The resource information 1344 includes the values of real resourceinformation collected by the collector 140 in predetermined cycles, andthe values of virtual resource information calculated in advance by thecalculation based on the collected values of real resource information.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, the resource information 1344 is tabular dataassociating the line data ID, the resource information name indicatingthe content of the resource information, the type of the resourceinformation, the values collected or calculated through calculation, andtime stamps each indicating the collection time point or a time point atwhich the calculation is performed.

The resource information name indicates the name of the collectedresource information.

The type indicates the type of the resource information. The resourceinformation in the type REAL RESOURCE indicates that the information isthe real resource information, whereas the resource information in thetype VIRTUAL RESOURCE indicates that the information is the virtualresource information.

For the information in the type REAL RESOURCE, the values are collectedby the collector 140. For the information in the type VIRTUAL RESOURCE,the values are calculated through calculation.

For the information in the type REAL RESOURCE, the time stamp indicatesthe time point at which the value is collected by the collector 140. Forthe information in the type VIRTUAL RESOURCE, the time stamp indicatesthe time point at which the value is calculated through calculation.

The real resource information acquirer 1352 in FIG. 11 causes thecollector 140 to acquire the values of real resource information inpredetermined cycles, and registers the acquired values to the resourceinformation 1344 stored in the storage 134. The cycles may be set by thefirst user of the management device 10.

When the collector 140 acquires the values of real resource informationin the predetermined cycles, the virtual resource information acquirer1353 causes the calculator 1354 to perform calculation using the valuesof real resource information acquired in the predetermined cycles, andregisters the calculation result to the resource information 1344 storedin the storage 134.

When the receiver 131 receives an acquisition request for acquiring thevalue of real resource information or virtual resource information, theresponder 136 retrieves data in the resource information 1344, andreturns a response including the requested value to the requester of theacquisition request. Thus, the processing to be performed by thecollector 140 in response to the request is eliminated. When thereceiver 131 receives an acquisition request for the virtual resourceinformation, the calculation to be performed for the value of virtualresource information in response to the request is eliminated.

In the management device 10 according to Embodiment 1, the resourceinformation acquirer 135 acquires values from the device 20 through thecollector 140 in response to an acquisition request. In contrast, themanagement device 10 according to the present embodiment eliminates theprocessing of the collector 140 performed in response to the acquisitionrequest. Thus, the response is not delayed due to a delay incommunication with the first communicator 150.

In the present embodiment, the management device 10 acquires the realresource information and the virtual resource information in advance.Thus, in response to an acquisition request from the data modelconstructor 110 or the application device 120, the management device 10can return a response with the processing within the management device10 without communicating with the device 20 through the network 30. Inresponse to an acquisition request for the virtual resource information,the management device 10 can perform the calculation in advance. Thepresent embodiment thus improves the responsiveness of the managementdevice 10.

Modification 1

In addition to the embodiments of the present disclosure describedabove, the present disclosure can be embodied in various othermodifications or applications.

The management device 10 according to Embodiment 1 or 2 includes theapplication device 120. However, the configuration of the managementdevice 10 is not limited to such a configuration, and the applicationdevice 120 may be installed outside the management device 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, for example, the application device 120according to Embodiment 1 or 2 is installed in an external terminaldevice 50 that can communicate with the management device 10. Themanagement device 10 receives, from the external terminal device 50, anacquisition request for acquiring the value of real resource informationor virtual resource information through a second communicator 160 andtransmits a response including the requested value or an error responseto the external terminal device 50.

The external terminal device 50 is connected to a network to exchangeinformation with the management device 10 through the secondcommunicator 160. Besides an industrial network, the network to whichthe external terminal device 50 is connected may be a wired or wirelessnetwork, such as the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, a local areanetwork (LAN), a virtual private network (VPN), or a telephone network.The network to which the external terminal device 50 is connected may bethe network 30 or another network. The second communicator 160 isimplemented by the communicator 106.

The management device 10 includes the virtual resource informationacquirer 1353, and thus can retain information acquired from the device20 within the management device 10. In response to an acquisitionrequest for the virtual resource information from the external terminaldevice 50, the management device 10 can hide, from the external terminaldevice 50 for security improvement, the information acquired from thedevice 20.

In response to a request for the calculation result from the externalterminal device 50, the management device 10 returns the calculationresult alone through the second communicator 160. Thus, the managementdevice 10 can reduce traffic used for returning the values of the deviceto be used for calculation.

Modification 2

The management device 10 according to Embodiment 1 or 2 includes thedata model constructor 110. However, the configuration of the managementdevice 10 is not limited to such a configuration, and the data modelconstructor 110 may be installed outside the management device 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 14, for example, the data model constructor 110according to Embodiment 1 or 2 is installed in an external terminaldevice 60 that can communicate with the management device 10. Themanagement device 10 receives, through the second communicator 160, asetting request for forming and editing a data model from the externalterminal device 60 and performs the settings on the data model.

To allow the external terminal device 60 including the data modelconstructor 110 alone to, for example, set and edit the systemconfiguration information 1341, the device information 1342, and theconnection information 1343, an OPC UA interface usable by the externalterminal device 60 alone may be prepared. The second communicator 160may use a protocol for the use of the external terminal device 60 alone.

For a remotely located device 20 from which a value is to be collected,there is a case in which the management device 10 including thefunctions of the data model manager 130 and the collector 140 alone isrequired to be placed adjacent to the device 20 and the operation isrequired to be remotely performed by the data model constructor 110.Even if the device 20 is a remotely located, the management system 1illustrated in FIG. 14 enables a user to form and edit a data model andto acquire the values of real resource information and virtual resourceinformation without paying attention to the locations of the device 20and the management device 10.

Other Modifications

In the above modifications, the data model constructor 110 and theapplication device 120 are installed in the external terminal device byway of example, but the management device may have anotherconfiguration.

For example, the data model constructor 110, the application device 120,the data model manager 130, and the collector 140 may be installed indifferent devices. These functional components may be partly installedin the same device, and may be partly installed in other devices toenable any combination of components. One or more application devices120 may be included. In FIG. 13, for example, the application device 120may also be installed in the management device 10, in addition to theexternal terminal device 50.

In the above embodiments, a production system for manufacturing productsinstalled at a facility such as a factory is described as an example ofthe management system 1, but the management system 1 is not limited tothis. The management system 1 may be a manufacturing system, aprocessing system, an inspection system, an industrial control system,or another system. The management system 1 may be installed at a plantincluding a power plant, a vehicle including a car, an airplane, and avessel, an office building, or a public facility such as a school.

In the above embodiments, data models are formed for multiple devices 20included in the device system 2, but this is not limitative. A datamodel may be formed for the entire management system 1 including themanagement devices 10. In some embodiments, a data model may be formedfor only the management device 10 to be used by the user, or data modelsmay be formed for other management devices 10. The system configurationinformation 1341 indicates the relationship between the devices 20. Insome embodiments, the node may include the management device 10 anddefine the relationship between the management device 10 and the device20.

In the above embodiments, a data model is formed by the first user, butthis is not limitative. For example, a data model may be copied fromanother device. In some embodiments, a data model may be formed bysoftware including artificial intelligence (AI).

In the above embodiments, six devices 20 are included by way of example,but the number of devices is not limited to six, and may be any number.

In the management system 1 according to the above embodiments and themanagement system 1 according to the above modifications, the managementdevice 10 includes the storage 134 that stores the system configurationinformation 1341, the device information 1342, the connectioninformation 1343, and the resource information 1344. However, theconfiguration of the management device 10 is not limited to such aconfiguration, and the management device 10 may have another structure.For example, an external server device may include a storage 134, andthe management device 10 may access the external server device includingthe storage 134 as appropriate. In some embodiments, an external serverdevice may store at least one of the system configuration information1341, the device information 1342, the connection information 1343, andthe resource information 1344 in the storage of the external serverdevice, the management device 10 may store the remaining information inthe storage of the management device 10, and the storage of the externalserver device and the storage of the management device 10 may becollectively regarded as the storage 134 according to the aboveembodiments.

In the above embodiments, the virtual resource information acquirer 1353acquires the value of virtual resource information based on the valuesof multiple pieces of real resource information collected from thecollector 140 at the time points matching one another, but this is notlimitative. For example, each device 20 may have the function ofmeasuring time, and the virtual resource information acquirer 1353 mayacquire the value of virtual resource information using the values ofmultiple pieces of real resource information that match the time pointsmeasured by the devices 20. The times of the devices 20 are synchronizedin advance.

In Embodiment 2, the resource information 1344 includes the values ofreal resource information collected in the predetermined cycles and thevalues of virtual resource information calculated in advance based onthe collected values of real resource information. However, the presentdisclosure is not limited to such a technical feature, and the resourceinformation 1344 may include either the values of real resourceinformation or the values of virtual resource information.

The functions of the management device 10 may be implemented bydedicated hardware or a general-purpose computer system.

For example, the program P1 executed by the processor 101 may be storedin a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium for distribution,and installed in a computer to provide, for example, a device thatperforms the above management processing. Examples of such recordingmedia include a flexible disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM),a digital versatile disc (DVD), and a magneto-optical (MO) disc.

In some embodiments, the program P1 may be stored in a disk deviceincluded in a server device on a communication network, typically theInternet, and may be, for example, superimposed on carrier waves to bedownloaded to a computer.

The above management processing may also be performed by the program P1being activated and executed while being transferred through acommunication network.

The above management processing may also be performed by the program P1being entirely or partially executed on a cloud server device with acomputer transmitting and receiving information about the processingthrough a communication network.

In the system with the above functions of the management device 10implementable, for example, partly by the operating system (OS) orthrough cooperation between the OS and applications, portions related tothe part other than the OS may be stored in a medium for distribution ormay be downloaded to a computer.

Means for implementing the functions of the management device 10 is notlimited to software, and the functions may be partly or entirelyimplemented by dedicated hardware including circuits.

The foregoing describes some example embodiments for explanatorypurposes. Although the foregoing discussion has presented specificembodiments, persons skilled in the art will recognize that changes maybe made in form and detail without departing from the broader spirit andscope of the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings areto be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. Thisdetailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense,and the scope of the invention is defined only by the included claims,along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims areentitled.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present disclosure can be used for management of information about alarge number of devices included in a system.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 Management system-   2 Device system-   10, 11, 12, 13 Management device-   20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 Device-   30, 40 Network-   50, 60 External terminal device-   101 Processor-   102 Main storage-   103 Auxiliary storage-   104 Input device-   105 Output device-   106 Communicator-   107 Bus-   110 Data model constructor-   111 Display-   112 Setting requester-   120 Application device-   121 Acquisition requester-   122 Data processor-   130 Data model manager-   131 Receiver-   132 Setter-   133 Data model information acquirer-   134 Storage-   135 Resource information acquirer-   136 Responder-   140 Collector-   150 First communicator-   160 Second communicator-   231 Bus-   1341 System configuration information-   1342 Device information-   1343 Connection information-   1344 Resource information-   1351 Instructor-   1352 Real resource information acquirer-   1353 Virtual resource information acquirer-   1354 Calculator-   U1 User-   P1 Program

1. A management device for managing a data model including real resourceinformation associated with a device connected to a network, and virtualresource information associated with a calculation result of calculationperformed using a value of the real resource information, the managementdevice comprising: a receiver to receive an acquisition requestgenerated based on the data model to acquire the value of the realresource information or a value of the virtual resource information; acalculator to perform the calculation; a real resource informationacquirer to acquire the value of the real resource information bycausing a collector to collect a value from the device associated withthe real resource information; a virtual resource information acquirerto acquire the value of the virtual resource information by causing thecalculator to perform the calculation using the value of the realresource information; and a responder to return, in response to thereceiver receiving the acquisition request for the real resourceinformation, a response including the value of the real resourceinformation acquired by the real resource information acquirer to arequester of the acquisition request, and to return, in response to thereceiver receiving the acquisition request for the virtual resourceinformation, a response including the value of the virtual resourceinformation acquired by the virtual resource information acquirer to arequester of the acquisition request, wherein when the calculation usesthe values of multiple pieces of the real resource information and thetime points at which the values are collected, by the collector, fromthe devices associated with the multiple pieces of the real resourceinformation fail to match, the real resource information acquirer causesthe collector to collect the values again from the devices associatedwith the multiple pieces of the real resource information.
 2. Themanagement device according to claim 1, further comprising: a settingrequester to receive, from a first user, a setting request for setting adefinition of the calculation.
 3. The management device according toclaim 2, wherein the definition of the calculation is at least one of afunction or a script describing processing performed by the managementdevice, and the function and the script include the value of the realresource information as an input.
 4. The management device according toclaim 2, further comprising: a data model constructor to construct thedata model based on an operation performed by the first user, whereinthe data model constructor includes a display to display the data model,and the setting requester.
 5. The management device according to claim1, wherein the virtual resource information acquirer causes the realresource information acquirer to acquire the value of the deviceassociated with the real resource information included in thecalculation.
 6. The management device according to claim 1, wherein forthe calculation using a plurality of pieces of the real resourceinformation, the virtual resource information acquirer causes thecalculator to perform the calculation with values of the plurality ofpieces of the real resource information collected by the collector fromthe device at time points matching one another to acquire the value ofthe virtual resource information.
 7. The management device according toclaim 1, further comprising: an instructor to cause the real resourceinformation acquirer to acquire the value of the real resourceinformation in response to the receiver receiving a request for the realresource information, and to cause the virtual resource informationacquirer to acquire the value of the virtual resource information inresponse to the receiver receiving a request for the virtual resourceinformation.
 8. The management device according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a storage to store the value of the real resourceinformation and the value of the virtual resource information, whereinthe real resource information acquirer causes the collector to collect avalue from the device in predetermined cycles, and registers thecollected value to the storage as the value of the real resourceinformation, in response to the value being collected in thepredetermined cycles, the virtual resource information acquirer causesthe calculator to perform the calculation with the collected value, andregisters a calculation result of the calculation to the storage as thevalue of the virtual resource information, and in response to thereceiver receiving the acquisition request for the real resourceinformation, the responder returns a response including the value of thereal resource information for the acquisition request with reference tothe storage, and in response to the receiver receiving the acquisitionrequest for the virtual resource information, the responder returns aresponse including the value of the virtual resource information for theacquisition request with reference to the storage.
 9. The managementdevice according to claim 1, further comprising: an application deviceincluding an acquisition requester to receive the acquisition requestfrom a second user, and transmitting the acquisition request to thereceiver, and a data processor to process the value included in theresponse returned from the responder in response to the acquisitionrequest.
 10. The management device according to claim 1, furthercomprising: the collector for collecting a value from the device. 11.The management device according to claim 1, wherein the device includesa device managed by another management device different from themanagement device.
 12. A management system, comprising: a deviceconnected to a network; a data model constructor including a display todisplay a data model including real resource information associated withthe device and virtual resource information associated with acalculation result of calculation performed using a value of the realresource information, and a setting requester to receive a settingrequest for setting the calculation, the data model constructor beingconfigured to construct the data model; an application device includingan acquisition requester to receive an acquisition request generatedbased on the data model to acquire the value of the real resourceinformation or a value of the virtual resource information, and a dataprocessor to process a value included in a response returned in responseto the acquisition request; a receiver to receive the acquisitionrequest from the acquisition requester; a collector to collect a valuefrom the device associated with the real resource information; acalculator to perform the calculation; a real resource informationacquirer to acquire the value of the real resource information bycausing the collector to collect the value from the device associatedwith the real resource information; a virtual resource informationacquirer to acquire the value of the virtual resource information bycausing the calculator to perform the calculation using the value of thereal resource information; and a responder to return, in response to thereceiver receiving the acquisition request for the real resourceinformation, a response including the value of the real resourceinformation acquired by the real resource information acquirer to theapplication device, and to return, in response to the receiver receivingthe acquisition request for the virtual resource information, a responseincluding the value of the virtual resource information acquired by thevirtual resource information acquirer to the application device, whereinwhen the calculation uses the values of multiple pieces of the realresource information and the time points at which the values arecollected, by the collector, from the devices associated with themultiple pieces of the real resource information fail to match, the realresource information acquirer causes the collector to collect the valuesagain from the devices associated with the multiple pieces of the realresource information.
 13. (canceled)
 14. A non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing acomputer for managing a data model including real resource informationassociated with a device connected to a network, and virtual resourceinformation associated with a calculation result of calculationperformed using a value of the real resource information to function asa receiver to receive an acquisition request generated based on the datamodel to acquire the value of the real resource information or a valueof the virtual resource information, a real resource informationacquirer to acquire the value of the real resource information bycausing a collector to collect a value from the device associated withthe real resource information, a virtual resource information acquirerto acquire the value of the virtual resource information by causing acalculator to perform the calculation using the value of the realresource information, and a responder to return, in response to thereceiver receiving the acquisition request for the real resourceinformation, a response including the value of the real resourceinformation acquired by the real resource information acquirer to arequester of the acquisition request, and to return, in response to thereceiver receiving the acquisition request for the virtual resourceinformation, a response including the value of the virtual resourceinformation acquired by the virtual resource information acquirer to arequester of the acquisition request, wherein when the calculation usesthe values of multiple pieces of the real resource information and thetime points at which the values are collected, by the collector, fromthe devices associated with the multiple pieces of the real resourceinformation fail to match, the real resource information acquirer causesthe collector to collect the values again from the devices associatedwith the multiple pieces of the real resource information.